Eternal Sonata
Preview
Frederic Chopin plays his last pieces in an anime dream world
by Chris Scott
previewed on X360
Chopin's last dreams
Frederic Chopin is regarded as one of the greatest piano composers of all time. Born in a small village in the Duchy of Warsaw in 1810 to a Polish mother and French father, he was quickly realized as a musical prodigy; publishing a pair of polonaises (slow Polish dances) by the time he was seven. At the age of twenty he left home to perform concerts in Western Europe never to return home, instead making a new home in Paris, France, and for the next 19 years he wrote and performed music that is still held in high regard to this day. On October 17, 1849 he died of pulmonary tuberculosis.
Now you might be wondering why I have given you a little history lesson in a preview for the upcoming role-playing game Eternal Sonata. Well, let me explain: On October 16, 1849 in apartment Place Vendôme 12 in the heart of Paris, France, Chopin lay on his deathbed drifting between life and death, between dreams and reality, light and darkness. Eternal Sonata takes place inside the mind of the dying musician during the final hours of his life.
The world of dreams
The dream world version of F. Chopin at first believes that this dream world is just an illusion created by his mind, but he will meet up with a large number of characters who will lead him to believe there is more to his dream than he initially thought. Many of the people that he meets are deathly ill, but being ill in this dream world also means that you are able to harness the power of magic. The magic users in the dream world are generally shunned by the others, but some of them have decided to use their magic to help others, like the village girl Polka. While not much is know about the story beyond this, it seems evident that Polka will play a major role in Frederic’s adventure in the dream world.
Chopin dreams in anime style?
Graphically the game employs a cell-shaded anime style and while it may not look realistic due to this stylistic choice, Eternal Sonata is a beauty to behold, especially in high definition. The world is colorful, vibrant and richly detailed. The character designs are just as good as the location designs. While in previous generations developers have attempted to bring an anime or cartoon look to the design and at times it worked well (Kingdom Hearts, Wind Waker, etc…) but for the most part you could still tell this was not the hand drawn quality of an actual cartoon. Eternal Sonata just about perfects the style for the computers, however. The characters look like they are living, breathing three dimensional anime characters. While it may not be the style for everyone’s tastes, some may be able to at least appreciate the beauty that lies within.
